The present invention relates generally to an information distribution system, a terminal apparatus, an information center, a recording medium, and an information distribution method for distributing and recording content such as music for example to a recording medium of a user.
Today, services for providing various kinds of content such as music, video, and text to users for pay are commercially available by means of communication networks such as the Internet.
In terms of music distribution for example, a user connects his terminal device such as a personal computer to a music download site for pay on the Internet. By looking at a distributed music purchase menu displayed on that site, the user selects desired music content and request the site for its downloading. The selected content is downloaded to such a recording medium of the user's terminal device as a hard disk for example.
For the payment for the downloaded content, it is often settled by inputting a user's credit card number for example.
Also available are systems by which users purchase music content from a dedicated terminal device installed at a music shop or a convenience store for example. In this case, each user goes to a music shop or a convenience store with a recording medium such as a Mini Disc (trademark) (a magneto-optical disc) on which music content can be recorded and loads it into the dedicated terminal device.
This dedicated terminal device, connected to a music content server, allows users to download music content. To be specific, a user selects desired music titles at the dedicated terminal device and the selected music titles are recorded on a Mini Disc for example loaded by the user.
The payment for the downloaded music content may be settled by inputting the user's credit card number as described above or by throwing in money as with an automatic vending machine for example.
However, the related-art settlement for the payment of downloaded content involves the following problems.
In the credit card settlement, the users having no credit card cannot obtain the content downloading service, thereby limiting this service only to those users who own credit cards.
This way of settlement also presents a credit card security problem.
The settlement by dedicated prepaid cards is also known. However, the acquisition of prepaid cards is troublesome for users and the use of prepaid cards requires some knowledge. Further, in applying prepaid cards to automatic vending machines, users must always carry a recording medium and a prepaid card, thereby it is not convenient. In addition, each automatic vending machine must have both a prepaid card insertion slot and a recording medium loading slot.
In the settlement by credit cards or prepaid cards, some knowledge is required about a card inputting procedure and about the system of payment settlement, which is unfriendly for users who are not well familiar with computer operations, thereby sometimes defeating their attempt to purchase content.
Although the above-mentioned dedicated terminal device allows the settlement by cash, users may feel inconvenience in not only loading a recording medium but also throwing in money every time content is downloaded.